The Seasteading Institute is working on floating cities to conduct sociopolitical experiments. We're not kidding

It is interesting to see what billionaires spend their time and money on, particuarly when those things can directly affect humanity's future. Elon Musk's involvement in Tesla, SolarCity and SpaceX, with their terrestrial and spacebound ambitions, is renowned. Less well known is that his PayPal co-founder, Peter Thiel, is looking to the ocean for his vision of the future.

Thiel, a man whose politics have confused many, co-founded the Seasteading Institute along with Patri Friedman, an ex-Google software engineer turned political economic theorist. Their idea is to build "startup cities" that float on the ocean. What's interesting is that the driving factor isn't to advance technology, or sustainability, or naval architecture; instead those elements will be harnessed in service to their key goal, which appears to be, fascinatingly, sociopolitical experimentation.

At The Seasteading Institute, we believe that experiments are the source of all progress: to find something better, you have to try something new. But right now, there is no open space for experimenting with new societies.

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That's why we work to enable seasteading communities — floating cities — which will allow the next generation of pioneers to peacefully test new ideas for how to live together.

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In this age of limited governance options, we intend to suggest an alternative model that allows new communities to form beyond the limiting jurisdictions of existing nation states in order to promote freedom and competition in the marketplace.

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We believe there could be a market on our floating city for residences, tourism, aquaculture, a business park, a research institute, and a powerplant to sell energy and clean water back to the host nation.

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If we create jobs for local residents, government officials indicated a willingness to allow us substantial political autonomy.

Here are two videos these guys have put out. The first is just the eye candy:

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The second is for those of you who are interested in the organization's thinking. In this fascinating pecha-kucha-style presentation, aptly-named spokesman Joe Quirk answers 20 questions—among them, "What if it turns into Waterworld?" "What if I get seasick?" and "What about pirates?"—with 20-second answers each:

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You have to love any presentation that kicks off with "The technology for politically independent cities that float on the ocean is at hand and I am here to bring you peace." The other quotes that jumped out at me:

- Seasteaders want voluntary societies based on choice, not force.

- The problem with state politics is that all our political opinions represent threats against people who disagree with us. Its very difficult for a monopoly on violence to form if people can detach and sail their homes elsewhere. Power corrupts people, land is the locus of power, and this is the technology for the decentralization of power.

- We do not live on Planet Earth. We live on Planet Ocean.

Whaddaya say, shall we roll the dice on these guys? Or do you already have your candidates picked out?

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1 Comment

Hey. Umm. All of the materials you need to build your floating island homes will come from the land you left behind....so like....you will still be beholden to political and economic interests of the mainlanders and yoursocial experiment will be inexorably limited from diverging from those too far. Also, it seems like one big storm and everyone in that place is dead and drowned.

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